Didn't Madison leave DC and Dolly before the British got there?
Allow me to introduce you folks to the "greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms", the Battle of Bladensburg.I think he went out to meet the British and was forced to retreat with his army, but I’m not sure.
"The hasty and disorganized American retreat led to the battle becoming known as the "Bladensburg Races" from an 1816 poem. The battle was termed "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms" and "the most humiliating episode in American history". The American militia actually fled through the streets of Washington. President James Madison and most of the rest of the federal government had been present at the battle, and had nearly been captured. They too fled the capital, and scattered through Maryland and Virginia. That same night the British entered Washington unopposed and set fire to many of the government buildings in what became known as the Burning of Washington."
EDIT: you know, this gives me an idea...